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IHA’s blog features informative posts written to keep the housewares industry educated and informed about key strategic issues and IHA member services.

April Currency Outlook

In their April 2017 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief Stock markets declined, including a 3% Down Jones fall Record turnout in the Dutch election revealed Mark Rutte as the victor over Geert Wilders Brexit started March 29, beginning a…

MercadoLibre: Latin America’s Largest Online Retailer

As a preview to their presentation during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on MercadoLibre, the leading Latin American e-commerce retailer. MercadoLibre was established in August 1999 in Argentina and rapidly expanded to Brazil (as MercadoLivre.com), Mexico and other South American countries. It is the largest e-commerce retailer in Latin America,…

Farcent Enterprise: Taiwan Brand Agent and Distributor

Farcent Enterprise Co. is seeking IHA member brands for brand agency representation or strategic partnerships in Taiwan. Farcent Enterprise Co., Ltd was founded in 1983, with over 33 years of experience in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry. Farcent is a publicly listed company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TWSE) listed as 1730.TW. It is a major household…

Incorporating Technology Into Your Independent Homewares Retail Mix

Technology is no longer isolated to tech-heads and gadget nerds. There are a large range of products that integrate technology into your décor, going by the category name - fashtronics . These design-focused objects integrate technology for function – not for technology’s sake. Fashtronics is a growing category in home décor. Examples of this fashtronics trend include…

The Many Benefits of Joining CORE

CORE (Chief Officers Reaching Excellence), IHA’s executive share groups, are nearing their 20th anniversary. These quarterly, professionally facilitated group meetings have been a draw for IHA member companies of all sizes and give senior level executives an opportunity to both share their wisdom and experience and to solicit the advice of their peers. So many of the issues…

Global Retail Intelligence – April

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: April 28 – Soriana (Mexico) See Solid Growth in Q1 Soriana presented positive results during the first quarter of 2017. Its revenues were 35,248 million pesos, equivalent to a growth of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2016 when it had revenues of 34.793 million pesos. This increase was driven mainly by…

What’s Hot and What’s Not in Consumer Color Preferences

The always-popular Leatrice (Lee) Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, returned to the keynote stage Tuesday, March 21, for a second session at the 2017 International Home + Housewares Show to share her insights on what colors are hot and which ones are not. She told the crowd there’s room for every color family in housewares, but different consumers may…

IHSA Negotiating May 1st Ocean Contract Rates

Ocean contract negotiations for cargo moving from Asia to the United States and Canada have been on-going for several weeks. It was anticipated that the carriers were going to take a tough stand this year and push for substantial rate increases. The carriers were not going to allow 2017 to be a repeat of 2016 where they collectively lost billions of dollars. Initial feedback…

Top 5 consumer trends affecting housewares revealed at 2017 Int’l Home + Housewares Show

The consumer marketplace is changing in dramatic ways, so it’s important to get to know today’s ‘real’ consumers, said IHA’s trend forecaster Tom Mirabile at the 2017 International Home + Housewares Show today. Mirabile, who is also senior vice president, global trend & design at Lifetime Brands, was joined at his annual keynote presentation this year by Peter Giannetti,…